ESOL Home Tutors welcomes Budget announcement

23 May 2008

New Zealand's largest resettlement agency has welcomed the announcement of $168m over four years for literacy, language and numeracy support for the workforce.

ESOL Home Tutors Chief Executive Claire Szabo said the extra funding will provide vital English language support for migrant and refugee workers.

Ms Szabo said many industries would reap the benefits from improved support for English language and resettlement of workers such as caring professions, building and construction, agriculture, energy, cleaning, fisheries and horticulture among others.

The funding, allocated as part of the Government's Unified Skills Strategy, will focus on programmes which raise literacy, language and numeracy levels of people in the workforce.

Ms Szabo said that the funding recognised the professionalism of long standing community based programmes including that of ESOL Home Tutors. "Extra funding will enable us take our expertise into the workplace and industries where, in many cases, migrants are a critical part of the workforce.

"We have been working in this area for a very long time and it is exciting now to see industry view support for immigrants as a strategic workforce issue and working with government to fund these strategies. Business NZ and the Council of Trade Unions are to be congratulated on their leadership in this area."

ESOL Home Tutors is New Zealand's largest resettlement agency. Its 200 staff and 3,000 volunteers currently work with 6,000 refugees and migrant adult learners in 23 New Zealand locations.

The organisation has provided a range of voluntary and paid English language tuition and settlement support services around New Zealand for 35 years.